It is twenty years now that the community ‘BAT’ bus has been
taking those who are disabled or have problems with mobility, to get out more
and make friends. To celebrate this milestone the BAT drivers are living up to
their name and spending the day as the superhero BATMAN.

No one is quite sure how the BAT bus name came about, but the
rumour is that it is because BATMAN is rescuing people from loneliness.

Every week the SEDCATs Community ‘BAT’ bus takes out
Bournemouth residents on day-trips and lunch outings and trips to Boscombe and
Castlepoint Shopping Centre. The trips to local centres are run twice a week
and clients are returned home by 1pm. Wednesday lunch outings offer a chance
for more interaction with others on the bus and they go to popular places
including Poole Quay, Hengistbury Head and New Forest pubs.

BAT BUS driver Nick said “It’s great to see clients laughing and
having a joke with each other, I like to tease them a bit too! Our regulars take each other’s phone numbers
and usually chat in between going on outings and keep each other informed about
all the comings and goings.”

You may wonder why this service is needed, but there are over
58 000 people living in Bournemouth aged 70 or older or consider themselves
limited by a disability. Often, due to
lack of mobility, usually walking problems, these users find it very difficult
(in many cases impossible) to access public transport as they cannot walk to
the bus stop. Without the help our services, people with mobility problems
become reluctant to leave their homes, frightened of falling over and anxious
about the environment as well as very lonely and isolated.

Jean Cox who has been a member for 15 years says “I
wouldn’t know what to without the BUS bus and the lovely BAT drivers – they are
real heroes and without them and the bus I’d be lost and I’d never be able to
get out. I use the BAT bus to come shopping twice a week and I really enjoy
going on the outings as well”

Many people who feel lonely or who would just like to make
some new friends may benefit from a full-day Saturday outing where you have
plenty of time to get to know the others on the BAT bus and usually include a
lunch at a good local pub or café and maybe a farm shop stop and a scenic tour as
part of the day. Venues such as Corfe Castle
and Cranbourne Chase have been highly rated destinations for our full-day trips
and we are always open to ideas and recommendations for possible trips from our
clients.

The service picks up people from their own homes takes them
to the venues and returns them straight back to their door. Our BAT drivers are
very kind and considerate and will help our clients on and off the buses and
with their shopping.

From the local charity Sedcat (South East Dorset (including
Bournemouth ) Accessible Transport) BAT BUS Driver Alan said “We
realise that people want to try out an outing before joining and to celebrate
20 years of the BAT bus we are offering
a trial run on ANY BAT bus trip without having to become a member. So if
you have problems with mobility, just call us and see where we are going and
come and make new friends.”

Call 01202 399771
between 10 am and 2pm for more details.

Normally BAT bus clients join as members (£10 per year) but
from today you can try out a BAT bus outing at just the trip price. Castlepoint and Boscombe £5; half-day outings
£6, and full-day outings being £9.

Can You show your support for Community Transport?

Community Transport makes around 15 million journeys a year
in the UK helping the most disadvantaged people in the community and is a
valuable and unique community asset.

A recent legal decision made by the Department of Transport has
the potential to jeopardise this good work by changing the way that CT
works.

Community Transport Operators around the country often take
on small contracts awarded by their Local Authorities using their Section 19 permits. This provides valuable
funding for other projects which is then re-invested directly back into low
cost services which help the community and provide excellent ‘social value’.

This has worked well for many years but this way of working
is under threat and potentially this could see the withdrawal of some services
leaving communities without short of accessible transport.

The Community Transport Association has organised a petition
to the Department of Transport which you can find by clicking here

Please show your support by going to the page and clicking
on the link which will take you to the petition.

Thank you

Sue Leighton

SEDCAT Manager

A successful bid for sedcat is very good news for our members

We were absolutely delighted to win an award of £19738 from the ' People's Postcode Trust ' to fund our project 'Mobility Matters' which aims to improve the provision of accessible transport in the area. We have purchased another accessible vehicle and we hope to have an update on the launch very soon.

Vote for our 'Hospital Hopper' project in the Aviva Community Fund competition until 18th November;

A new project to get members to hospital appointments in Bournemouth; you have up to 10 votes for good causes (like ours!!) Help us to help local elderly and disabled people attend hospital appointments without it costing them upwards of £25.00!

Missed appointments cost the Health Service thousands of pounds every year and delays can lead to poor outcomes for patients. VOTE NOW

THE BIG GIVE XMAS APPEAL 2016

Can you help us get a new service off the ground?

This year we are taking part in THE BIG GIVE XMAS challenge
to raise funds for a new service to provide transport to get people to hospital
appointments. At the moment this is not something that we do but we know that
there is a need for it in this area. We do not currently have the
resources within the services at the moment but we are trying to put together a
service which is affordable and accessible.

Unfortunately due to declining numbers of Saturday users at Castlepoint Shopmobility a decision was made in the early part of last year to close Saturdays making savings which could be used elsewhere where demand was greater. As a charity our resources are limited and it was with regret that we felt we had to made this decision to protect other services.

Arrangements were put into place with Castlepoint Management to allow pre-booked equipment to be collected from the security office at the Management Suite on Aisle 8 on Saturdays. The office is open from 9.00am until late.

Castlepoint Shopping Centre keep 2 wheelchairs which can be loaned out on a first come, first served basis for visitors to the Centre. Sainsbury and Asda stores have scooters which can be used by their shoppers.

We apologise to anyone who has been inconvenienced by this decision and we would urge people to book ahead to avoid disappointment.

How you can make use of the SEDCAT community car schemes bit.ly/22oaDtR

Research published in the Olive Oil Times shows that a Mediterranean diet reduces risk of heart disease and stroke but that Western diet does not increase risk.

New service for rural areas of Wimborne launching Saturday May 28th! Bookings being taken now

Taxi battles over
wheelchair journeys in London

Every now and again SWT offers cheap day returns to London.
During April there was an offer of a £15 return ticket for example. Southwest
Trains, but not all stations, are accessible by wheel chair and getting to and
from London should be reasonable but what happens when you get there?

In theory you can use a bus and if you have a National Bus Pass
the travel will be free. I use the bus every time I go to London now and find
it the best way to get around but you have to get the hang of it and this can
be a bit daunting. Every London bus route is ‘wheelchair accessible’, In theory
at least. In practise it is pretty much impossible to use a wheelchair on
London buses during the rush hour period.

Good advice on getting around London can be found at the
Transport for London site here.
If you live in London you can even get advice from a mentor. It’s clear that
Transport for London is trying hard. You can find accessible underground
stations in advance and plan your journey before you set off. I do this as a
matter of routine now, even planning bus links and journeys in advance when I
go abroad. Give us a call if you need help to do this.

If you can afford the fare you might take a taxi. All London
black cabs can take wheelchairs but most charge extra. Research by the Department of Transport shows
that two out of every three wheelchair users are charged extra for a taxi
journey in London.

See the article ‘Mind
the Gap’ by David Atkinson, CEO of Scope about disability transport in
London.

You might have heard of the newish taxi company called Uber
(Uber’s London website) they
are now active in six British cities. The London Black cabs launched a major
demonstration against Uber, completely blocking Whitehall in one protest.

This isn’t an article in favour of Uber, for one thing most
Uber drivers use a Toyota Prius which does not take a non collapsible wheelchair.
Uber have introduced ‘Uberassist’.
Uber assist is an app designed to help seniors and disabled people, including
people with non folding wheelchairs. Uber’s best London drivers are being
specially trained to help people with disabilities. User assist puts a disabled
person directly in touch with one of these drivers.

Reports about the training are good but I don’t know anyone
who has used this service. If you are travelling to London and want to try
Uberassist or get information from Transport for London the plan your journey
and you are not sure about how to do it, give us a call and we’ll fix a time to
help you at shopmobility Castlepoint.

What should we eat to optimize good health as we get older? whfoods explains

Walking and cycling are good for
your health even when air pollution is high.

There
are pockets in Poole and Bournemouth near major roads where air pollution
drifts above acceptable levels. A friend of mine for example was going through
the ‘stop smoking program’. The pharmacist at the medical centre who was
checking his progress wouldn’t believe that he had stopped because the carbon
monoxide in his blood was the same as a heavy smoker. It turned out this was
because he was cycling alongside a busy road before the test.

You can
smell the scent of diesel fumes that is not unlike a barbecue smell in areas
near to busy roads in the town. Particularly in cold still weather.

Air
pollution in cities is one of the leading risk factors to health. The Royal Colleges
of Physicians and Paediatrics both say that it contributes to about 40 000
deaths a year.

Researchers
at the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) at Cambridge University
looked into the effects of exercise in areas of high air pollution in London.

Dr Marko
Taino who led the research team found that the benefits of exercise such as
walking and cycling always outweigh the negative effects of air pollution. Only
about 1% of the world’s cities are so polluted that exercise actually becomes
more dangerous. A cyclist in Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the
world for example (10 times more polluted than London), would have to cycle for
over 5 hours before the effects of pollution began to outweigh the effects of
exercise.

Dr James
Woodcock, also from CEDAR warns that, “Whilst this research demonstrates the
benefits of physical activity in spite of air quality, it is not an argument
for inaction in combating air pollution.”

He goes
on to argue that it supports investment in ‘active exercise’ in our towns and
cities.

The
research cautions that their model does not take into account any physical
condition or health problems a person may have. Check with your doctor if in
doubt about fitness levels.

On a
personal note as an older person, I walk up to four miles to the supermarket
along busy roads and catch a bus back. And sometimes cycle even further to the
shops although I avoid the busy roads because I think they are too dangerous to
cycle on.

Has
anyone got any stories of how to get ‘active exercise’ or the effects of air
pollution?

Sedcat community bus to replace the withdrawn Damory 88 bus in Wimborne bit.ly/1VMNsck

The Dorset Storm Troopers will be at Castlepoint on 4th June helping us fundraise. Come and have your photo taken with Darth Vader and his troopers if you dare!!

Fundraising

We now have an appeals page on Localgiving where you can donate to our cause and help more people benefit from our services. To donate please click on the link below or cut and paste to take you to our page where you can make a donation.

Come and join us for a sponsored walk starting at Boscombe Pier to Bournemouth Pier (approx 5km) to raise funds. We need an additional bus which will provide services to isolated communities in Dorset following severe cuts to local transport.

Entry costs £5.00 and sponsor forms can be obtained by emailing: - info@sedcat.org.uk or by phoning us on 01202 598295 0r 01202 399700

Wednesday 16th December 2015

We are taking the Bat Bus to Winchester market for the day; come and joinus to find those unique Xmas gifts and craftitems in the lovely market town of Winchester. Shopmobility facilities available in the Town Centre and you will be able to use your sedcat Wessex membership.

December 2015 New bus for

sedcat

We have had a number of difficulties this
year with our loaned buses which have prompted us to look at how we need to improve our fleet. The 2 blue side-loading Optares have been
off the road and sadly one of them has now been withdrawn from service.
This left us with problems running the service after issues with
accessibility and reliability of buses which were available to us. The
outings were temporarily suspended for a period of time because of
Health and Safety concerns but I am very pleased to report that our
popular outings are up and running again. A new list of outings is available for members and two extra seasonal trips have been added this month.

The popular blue BAT bus is currently
being repaired and we hope to see it back very soon.

An opportunity has recently arisen for us to purchase a second hand Renault Master with a back loading hydraulic ramp which has been used by another Community Transport in Kent. Although it does not have the side opening, no step access, of the blue bus we feel that it offers good accessibility from the rear of the bus, great value and we like the fairly simple mechanics of the model, with less reasons for breaking down!

We are busy fundraising for the purchase of the bus and so far we have raised around £2,000 towards the cost of £10,800. A very big thank you goes to the lovely members of The Tuesday Luncheon Club who recently presented us with a cheque for £500 and a further £340 from Waitrose in Winton. Thank you as well to all our members who have purchased mugs, raffle tickets, knitted items and generally supported us throughout the year. A legacy from the estate of Mrs Sheila Tisley, who was a regular user of the services and particularly loved the outings, was a very thoughtful and helpful gesture towards our appeal.

Legacies can be made to sedcat and we will be happy to help with making any arrangements. Donations play an important part in helping to keep the services running in the future and safeguarding the service for those most in need within the community.

July 2014

Mayor launches new fully accessible MPV to help Wheelchair Travellers in Bournemouth

A new vehicle has been launched by the Mayor of Bournemouth, Cllr Christopher Mayne, for wheelchair travelling passengers living in the town who need to get out and about in the community but can only leave their homes by means of an accessible taxi. The fully accessible Peugeot MPV has been purchased by sedcat for the use of members who can only travel in a wheelchair. sedcat has added their first accessible MPV to their fleet of mini-buses.

The MPV has been specially adapted to carry wheelchairs, either powered and manual, and will be driven by fully trainedVolunteer drivers from the sedcat Volunteer Community Car Scheme. Any sedcatmember who needs to travel in a wheelchair can now do so in comfort and style; a Volunteer diver will collect them from their home and take them to wherever they need to go. The new vehicle will be parked in a safe and secure compound at the Castlepoint Shopping Park with its own reserved parking space.

The car has been funded through the generosity of local charitable trusts, including the Talbot Village Trust, and fundraising events which have been run by sedcatduring the past two years; starting with a Sponsored Cycle Ride to Sardinia in 2012. "sedcatprovides a vital service to the community and enables people who wouldn't normally be able to use public transport to get out and about rather than being trapped in their homes",said Katie Cox from the Talbot Village Trust,"the new vehicle will allow them to help even more people who need to travel in a wheelchair and unable to use the Community Car Scheme and we think it will be invaluable in giving individuals and their families that all import independence and freedom."

There will be a charge to use the MPV, to cover the running costs of this service. Please go to our services for more information.

The BAT Bus stretches out into the local community to help local residents of Bournemouth who have been affected by some of the bus routes which have recently been terminated.

sedcat are pleased to announce three new services for the BAT Bus, operating in the Bournemouth area, which they hope will help members who have been affected by the recent termination of some bus routes in Bournemouth.

New weekly Bus service to Winton Town Centre starting Wednesday 30th April 2014The BAT Bus will collect members from their homes in Talbot Village, Ensbury Park, East Howe, Hillview, Redhill and Moordown, within a zoned area.

The Bus will call at Waitrose and near to Iceland in Winton.Return fare: £5.00

New weekly Bus service to Westbourne Town Centre starting Monday 28th April 2014The BAT Bus will collect members from their homes along the East Cliff, Bournemouth Central, West Cliff, Westbourne as far as Canford Cliffs Road and within a zoned area running from Bourne Valley Road to Branksome Wood Road.

The bus will call at Marks and Spencer in WestbourneReturn fare: £5.00

New monthly Bus service to Wimborne starting Friday 2nd May 2014The BAT Bus will collect members from their homes in Northbourne, Kinson, West Howe, Bear Cross, Bearwood, Canford Magna and Merley within a zoned area.

The bus will call at Wimborne market, Waitrose and Wimborne Town Centre.Return fare: £5.00

"Community Transport - reaching out into the local community to help those with real transport needs"

For more details and eligibility to use any of these new services, please telephone the sedcat booking line on 01202 399700 or email info@sedcat.org.uk

sedcattake Shopmobility to Bournemouth Town Centre on Saturday 21st December 2013

Shopmobility was available all day from 10.00 am to 4 pm helping anyone with mobility problems who needed to visit the shops for their Christmas shopping. Scooters and wheelchairs were available at the Glen Fern car park (see map below). Visitors looked out for the blue BAT Bus which was parked up in the car park with scooters and wheelchairs for hire. Shopmobility staff were on hand to offer help and assistance.

For anyone with mobility difficulties getting around Bournemouth Town Centre can be a huge problem, for a short time only Shopmobility gave people the opportunity to do some last minute shopping.

The Glen Fern car park has two disabled parking bays and reasonably priced parking charges. The car park is located in Glen Fern Road and is convenient for Old Christchurch Road and Town Centre shops, bars and restaurants; you can also easily access the Gardens. Post code for Sat Nav use is BH1 2LZ.

sedcat on the beach - Summer 2013

sedcat organised a weekend down at Boscombe beach during June and took a selection of mobility equipment to help visitors and residents of Bournemouth access the seafront. sedcat understand how difficult it is for many people with mobility difficulties to enjoy the simple pleasures of going down to the beach. Fortunately, the sun kept shining and the rain held off.

Malcom and Margaret Humphriss (left), members of Castlepoint shopmobility, switched their afternoon visit to the shopping center to come down to the beach. They spent the afternoon happily cruising about along the promenade enjoying the holiday atmosphere on the beach "much more fun than shopping!" commented Malcom.

Barbara Carpenter (right), a long standing member of the Boscombe Shopmobility took advantage of the sunshine and went down to the beach with her two grand-daughters "Being able to come down to the seafront and use a scooter has given me the oppurtunity of bringing my grand-daughters down to the beach. Not only have the girls been able to play on the beach under my watchful eye, I can sit close by and enjoy the scenery and the sunshine, what a treat!" said Barbara.

ASDA 'Chosen by you - Given by us' instore collections held at the CastlepointASDA store

sedcat are grateful for the continued local support shown by their local ASDA store at Castlepoint Shopping Park for including them in the recent 'Green Token Charity Scheme'. Although sedcat did not finish as overall winner they still qualified for a cheque for £50, which was presented by Dennis Godfrey, Events Manager at the Castlepoint ASDA store.

A 'Donations' box on behalf of sedcat is also available at Customer Services in the Castlepoint ASDA store.

Cycle to Sardinia - September 2012

Teenagers helping to raise money for a new community BAT Bus

It's not often you hear about two sixteen year olds who are giving up part of their summer holidays to cycle all the way from Bournemouth to Sardinia to raise money to help a local charity; but this is what Will Nurse from New Milton and Paul Rickard from Poole are planning. The boys will be leading a group of 8 cyclist who will be setting off from the Castlepoint Shopmobility unit in Bournemouth on the 2nd August 2012. In the group there will be three 16yr olds, one 17yr old and four adults who will accompany the boys solely as back up.

Will and Paul chose the BAT Bus as the charity they wished to support. Will's grandmother, Margaret Nurse, has been a member for many years and uses the bus for her shopping and also enjoys many of the outings. Margaret's mobility is so poor that she is now confined to a powered wheelchair; without the BAT Bus calling for Margaret it is unlikely that she would be able to leave her home and continue to lead an independent life. It is for this reason that Will is keen to support our fundraising efforts to buy another badly needed community BAT Bus.

If you are reading this and thinking that you would like to sponsor the Cycle Ride to Sardinia, please visit the boy's website www.cycletosardinia.co.uk where you can leave a donation.

If you would like to help with our fundraising efforts to buy a new community BAT bus we would love to hear from you; perhaps you would like to run your own fundraising event (bring home baked cakes into work to sell at coffee time : shave off a colleague's moustache : have a sponsored slim or run a marathon), all in support of our 'Raising money for a new community BAT Bus fund'

Paul and Will getting ready for the 2nd August departure

ASDA community board at Castlepoint

A big thankyou to ASDA at Castlepoint Shopping Park for featuring 'the BAT Bus' 'Community Cars' and 'Shopmobility' in three of their CHOSEN BY YOU collection boxes. Green tokens were handed out to shoppers who then decided which charity collection box to put their token into. The tokens are still being counted for the Shopmobility collection so please, if any of you are reading this and shop in ASDA, remember to put your token into our box.

Although The BAT Bus and Community Cars token collections did not win we still received a cheque from ASDA which will go towards our'Raising money for a new community BAT Bus'fund

Mayor's Volunteer and Volunteer Group of the Year Awards 2012 : Runner up Diana Brocklehurst

We were delighted to hear that Diana (one of our Community Cars Drivers) was awarded the 'Runner Up' Award from the Mayor at the recent award's ceremony. For over 4 years Diana has been a volunteer community car driver for sedcat and a volunteer wheelchair-pusher for the BAT Bus collecting Marjorie, one of the BAT Bus ladies, and taking her shopping in ASDA. Not only does she volunteer for sedcat, she also helps at the Talking Newspapers editing, reading and general secretarial duties. Diana gives up half of her week volunteering and over 200 people benefit; she more than deserves her award.